Gold Top, Chrome Hardware

[Guest mgoetting]

This is a basic and serious question. Why do Gibson and Heritage put chrome hardware on their gold tops? I haven't seen gold hardware on them.

 

Les Paul himself advocated for this finish because it made the guitar look expensive. It was one of the few design inputs that Gibson accepted from him.

 

So if you're covering some good wood with gold, why not go all the way?

 

I suspect the answer is thay they tried this in the early 50s and it simply looked bad. The gold hardware probably made the gold top look cheap.

 

Any ideas?

[big bob]

that would be a Liberace Paul...

[Guest mgoetting]

that would be a Liberace Paul...

 

 

I image there have been a number of Liberace Pauls.

[brentrocks]

gold with gold hrdw. is just too much gold....IMO

[t0aj15]

Gold-on-gold IMO would just look gaudy. My gold top has chrome hardware and I'm perfectly content with it.

[Dick Seacup]

The gold hardware is a different shade than the gold top. Plus, it's too over the top. I don't even like chrome hardware...nickel is where it's at.

[mark555]

The original gold top les paul was fitted with plastic covered P90's, as was the early Black Beauty which became the custom. The custom was then later fitted with gold when the humbuckers came along, but the gold top had always had the same neck and headstock style as what was to become the LP Standard, all Les Paul standards up until the sunburst finish was introduced were gold tops, I do not have the knowledge and dates to hand as to when the custom came in with the gold plated hardware.

 

The hardware was not chrome, but in fact nickel, which looks much much better in the long run than the chrome, and underneath the gold plate you will or should always find nickel. If you have gold plated pick ups, get a good metal polish and get rid of the gold!

 

In my own but very humble opinion, both chrome and gold should never be put on a good guitar, but I know many of the guys here love their gold plate, so it is purely each to their own, but never ever put chrome on your guitar hardware, it is a cheap alternative and will not look any where near as good as nickel will twenty years down the line - go and check out the seventies gibson's with pitted hardware, that is chrome for you - nasty cheap stuff...

[Dick Seacup]

Karma up for Mark...again, nickel is where it's at.

[Guest mgoetting]

Karma up for Mark...again, nickel is where it's at.

 

 

I think you're right, of course.

 

Of course you can swap out all of the gold hardware every 20 years.

[Patrick]

I seem to recall reading that the gold hardware was only to be used on their higher end or top of the line guitars . . vis-a-vis Super 400, L5, ES 355, LP Custom

[mark555]

I seem to recall reading that the gold hardware was only to be used on their higher end or top of the line guitars . . vis-a-vis Super 400, L5, ES 355, LP Custom

 

Originally yes, but of recent years, Lea Paul Studio's have had gold plating.

[mark555]

Here is my 555 with gold plated hardware replaced with nickel.

[t0aj15]

In my own but very humble opinion, both chrome and gold should never be put on a good guitar, but I know many of the guys here love their gold plate, so it is purely each to their own, but never ever put chrome on your guitar hardware, it is a cheap alternative and will not look any where near as good as nickel will twenty years down the line - go and check out the seventies gibson's with pitted hardware, that is chrome for you - nasty cheap stuff...

 

I do agree about gold, every guitar I've had with gold hardware looks worn after very little time, but I couldn't disagree more about chrome. My thirty year old Les Paul has chrome hardware and it still looks new. IMO nickel looks dull & lifeless when it's brand new.

[mark555]

I do agree about gold, every guitar I've had with gold hardware looks worn after very little time, but I couldn't disagree more about chrome. My thirty year old Les Paul has chrome hardware and it still looks new. IMO nickel looks dull & lifeless when it's brand new.

 

Good to hear a different opinion. I do not know how much sweat etc has gone into the chrome on your Les Paul, but with regular use I have seen chrome go horrendous. I suppose it is all about beauty in the eye of the beholder, but nickel does go dull but does not corode, eventually it has a really nice patina to it, the stuff of vintage guitars. Great to know different opinions here.

[t0aj15]

Good to hear a different opinion.

It would be a pretty boring world if everybody had the same opinion, we'd have nothing to discuss.

[Millennium Maestro]

This is an instance where Black hardware might be a really sweet option!

Black and Gold,,, mmmmmmm

[Guest mgoetting]

This is an instance where Black hardware might be a reallt sweet option!

Black and Gold,,, mmmmmmm

 

 

I agree with black. The pup covers can be EMGs (plastic). Tuners, tail, bridge in black- worried it would chip.

[FredZepp]

Of course ... sometimes Gold Hardware is a requirement... (although I agree, not on a Goldtop)

[Guest mgoetting]

Of course ... sometimes Gold Hardware is a requirement... (although I agree, not on a Goldtop)

 

 

When it's tastefully done, like in the Black Beauty, absolutely!

[mark555]

This is an instance where Black hardware might be a really sweet option!

Black and Gold,,, mmmmmmm

 

I have seen early les paul black beauties in the flesh with the original alnico P90's with black soap bars, they look stunning and sound every bit as good. Maybe the guys at K'zoo ought to be thinking about those, they would no doubt sell a few of them.

[mark555]

it looks like this...

[mark555]

the above pictures are actually two different models, the first picture is a recent gibson which is some sort of hybrid between a custom and a standard, the headstock has the big diamond on it but the neck is a standard type, probably a nice guitar if you can get the one in a hundred that was made correctly. The other one is, I believe a re issue of an early custom, the one I played had nickel hard ware (way to go...!!) with the P90's as illustrated. I do not know if the pick up at the front is alnico or colbalt, may have to do some research into that. But I think you have to agree, the P90's look very classy. I would not want gold on any guitar, I don't care how expensive it may be. But, there you go, that's me.

[peteraltongreen]

it looks like this...

I'm with Mark 555 on this one.If you look closely at the gold plating on my L5,you can see it's pitted on the Tuners,& worn on the pickup cover.Mark devised a way to dump the gold plating on his H555,and having seen it in the flesh,to me,it looks better.

The L5 looks good in it's 42 year old distressed state,because it's 42 years old.You should see the wrinkles round my eyes ! That's even more distressing.

[Guest mgoetting]

Sometimes only gold will do.